


Finding Forever

by QueenBookBuff



Series: The Scarlet and SJ Chronicles [4]
Category: That '70s Show
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Falling In Love, Forgiveness, Friendship, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:20:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27561406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenBookBuff/pseuds/QueenBookBuff
Summary: Eric and Jackie have a complicated relationship, that is made harder by the hurt Donna and Kelso caused. Eric so badly wants what Jackie and Hyde have. He wants to find his forever.
Relationships: Eric Forman/Original Character, Eric Forman/Steven Hyde, Jackie Burkhart/Eric Forman, Jackie Burkhart/Steven Hyde
Series: The Scarlet and SJ Chronicles [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1977190
Comments: 13
Kudos: 25





	1. Ever Dance Dance With The Devil?

**Author's Note:**

> So many have asked for Eric's story..... Here I introduce how he found Devon and a glimpse into how Eric and Jackie's relationship as friends grows.
> 
> This section in the SJ and Scarlet Chronicles sets up SJ and his best friend Jackson. SJ and Scarlet Chronicles will always come slower because I am bringing a whole world into focus in my head. 
> 
> This also takes us back to the aftermath of when Kelso first confronts Jackie, causing her to hit her head. 
> 
> While I was born in America, a great deal of my family is Irish. My grandfather was full blooded and came to America when he was 18. He became a citizen by fighting in the Korean War. My dad is what they call first generation. 
> 
> My point is what Jackie says to Scarlet and SJ at nap time are actual things that my Grandparents use to say to me. The word Fae is the proper term for the fairies in Ireland which is why I use it when Jackie is talking to Scarlet. 
> 
> My real name is Gaelic for the word Ireland and I can speak some Gaelic. So this one is for my Grand Da, who was called home 20 years ago on October 28th. He was a storyteller, and I believe any ability I may have to craft a story, comes from the Irish blood that lives in my body. Lord..... he could tell a tale.
> 
> Is brea' liom tu' grand da (I love you Grand Da)
> 
> I hope you enjoy this portion of our story. Next Up SJ meets AnneMarie and Haze and Scarlet are going to Homecoming. 
> 
> If you follow Somewhere Along The Way..... Eric and Red are coming up.

It was a beautiful fall day. One of those days when fall teases you with a taste of summer gone by. Eric sat on his porch watching the scene in front of him, one that was both familiar, but heartbreaking simultaneously. The scene unfolding in his best friend’s driveway was one that took place a thousand times in his own driveway outside his kitchen. It was impossible to not grin at the group of stupid guys who had nothing better to do than give each other shit and play some ball. SJ and Jackson vs. Liam and Will the new generation of the basement gang. 

If he closed his eyes he could see himself, Hyde, Kelso and instead of a fourth guy it was always Donna. Those boys across the street were repeating the best part of who he and his friends used to be. He used to wonder what would have happened if Jackie had never come into their lives, would Kelso and Donna have been different people? It was unfair to Jackie in the worst way, and he had put that line of thinking to rest years ago. It was never her fault, that people he had trusted without hesitation weren’t worthy of that belief. The death of their childhood had effected the three of them all differently. Hyde went with bone chilling hate, Jackie went with putting them out of her mind and heart, simply as they never existed, and he had mourned them quietly. Still, that was all years ago, and the tradition of a group guys jacking around with a basketball rang clearly. The autumn air full of _“Screw You”_ _“You play like my Grandma”_ and his favorite the cry of _“Hell Ya”_ as SJ and Jackson took the point.

His heart swelled at the sight of SJ and Jackson fist bumping each other as the took the next point as well. He couldn’t have asked for more in life than his son and Hyde’s to be friends who were brothers. 

Jackson Forman after Scarlet was SJ’s best friend, loyal to each other down to their bones. What he loved even more was Jackson was Scarlet’s best friend as well, it reminded him of a softer Hyde and Donna relationship. They had found Liam and Will in first grade, and the Quartet of Cool, as they used to call themselves when they were young, became a band of brothers. It both pained and made Eric happy simultaneously, he would always miss the Kelso that was goofy and fun to start trouble with. He preferred to think about that Kelso instead of the one burned who they all were together to the ground. He chose for his own sanity to put Donna away in a box, like an old scrapbook that lost relevance. 

Eric watched as Jackie came out of the house, the boys egging her on to shoot a basket. He watched as Jackson pretended to block her while Jackie gave it go. As she always had been, she was still a terrible shot. After the shot was complete they all broke into laughter he spied what he had seen a million times, Jackie ruffle his son’s hair, and his boy breaks into a grin. Jackson loved Jackie like a second of mom, and the feeling was mutual. Jackie still drove him bat shit crazy and frequently made him want to pull his hair out, he had come to a place that he would step in front of a bullet for that tiny hell on wheels of a woman. She was responsible for the best parts of his life. She loved Hyde in a way that defied description, and without her he wouldn’t have the love of his life. The woman he used to call the devil was who brought him Devon. His smile became soft and a warmth filled his body, he wouldn’t trade one minute of his heartbreak because Devon was everything he never knew he wanted. With everything that had gone down with Kelso recently he couldn’t reflect on the bumpy path with Jackie had how that helped him find his happily ever after.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

13 years ago

She looked like the burnout she never was, never wanted to be and still wasn’t. Her hair was swept in a messing bun. She wore ratty Levis that hugged her in all the right places, a black concert tee shirt, and a pair of red Chuck Taylors. The only sneakers she owned and only because she lost a bet. She would never admit it, but she loved them. Her music was Bon Jovi, followed by the sound of her children laughing. She was soothed and satisfied by the sound of the wrench in her hand as it tightened the under carriage of the Vista Cruiser. Jackie Hyde was in her happy place.

“Hey Devil! How goes it in under there?” a voice floated to her.

She couldn’t help but smile, so much of her childhood was ripped away from her. She had a hard time knowing what was real and what was a Kelso manipulation. It was not something she could talk about with Steven. The mere mention of Kelso’s name caused him to get up and leave the room. Donna wasn’t even real for her and that hurt but it pained no one more than the man whose voice was a little more frantic than it had been a few minutes ago.

“Jackie? You okay?” 

Eric was the one true thing she and Steven could hang on to, so she closed her eyes and told herself to be patient. She pushed herself out from under the car, hoping this line of questioning was not head where she suspected it was.

Eric watched her feet use the concrete as a perch to push herself out. He watched the motion intently wanting to view her eyes. Jackie was still suffering side effects from her encounter with Kelso a month ago. She got tired quicker, started having migraines, and had sudden dizzy spells. To say Hyde was in overprotective overdrive was like saying the sun was yellow. Hyde needed to go to Millwuakee to meet with WB, but Hyde, flat out, refused unless someone kept an eye on Jackie. He had been elected, and so here he was watching her mismatched gaze. Hyde had said you could see she was hurting just by looking at her eyes. Eric was doubtful, the only person who found answers in those pools was Hyde, but they were best friends, so he would give it a go.

Jackie rolled all the way out, cocked her head and snarked “I’m fine String Bean” 

Jackie Burkhart Hyde he mused, even with a streak of grease on her cheek and looking messy, was still a breathtaking woman. Eric can’t help but scan this hellcat of a woman who his two friends and the girl he loved ripped each other apart over. He didn’t experience his blood heat at all. He could recognize her beauty, but from the minute she strolled into the basement he had had an instant brotherly irritation for her. What he learned the hard way was she had a gigantic heart, and the man he called his brother simply couldn't live without her. He never wanted to watch Hyde self-destruct like he did when he and Jackie fell apart. Eric believed in his heart if Kelso had succeeded Hyde would be dead. He would have drank himself to death. He had been well on his way, when Jackie put a stop to it. 

Fingers snapped in his face, followed by a disgruntled, 

“Eric! What do you want? I’m not done with the car yet!’

He came back at the snap in his face and his natural irritation for her flooded to the surface.

“Jesus Jackie! Do you ever stop being rude?” 

He watched that bitchy attitude of hers reach her eyes. He sees none of the signs he is supposed to be searching for.

Before he knows it she tips up and kisses his cheek and giggles,

“To you String Bean, Never. Now what’s up?”

Eric took a deep breath, Hyde soooo owed him for this, because he was confident his ass was about to be chewed by a pissed off ex-cheerleader. 

“I think it is a good time for water and rest. The kids are ready for lunch. Let’s go in and get out of the sun.”

He watched her eyes blaze and her lip curl. He took a step back he had no desire to suffer from one of her hellish shin kicks. He knows it is coming, and he is not wrong, Jackie explodes

“So that is what this! Jackie can you come look at the Cruiser?, I’ll watch SJ and Scarlet. _HE LEFT YOU TO BABYSIT ME!”_

Jackie was still impossibly loud when she was merely being Jackie, but Devil Jackie shrieks and has a pitch that only small dogs can hear. 

He glanced back quickly to see if SJ and Scarlet had caught wind their mother was losing her shit. He noticed them frozen staring at the banshee of a woman they called mother. He could see Scarlet’s face getting troubled and her little eyes start to tear. He watched SJ grab her hand pull her close to him. 

Scarlet calls out “Mama? Okay?”

Eric whirled back around “Jackie! You are scaring Scarlet! Be pissed later!” he said to her sternly. 

He could give anyone who asked a detailed list of why Jackie was the most annoying creature on earth, but she was an exceptional mother. It continually amazed him that Jackie could douse her anger faster than anyone he had ever seen, more proof to him he she was Rosemary’s Baby. Damn this woman had 700 personalities packed in that petite body.

Jackie wanted to rage, scream and kick Eric in his shins so fiercely that he would suffer for a month, but he was right she could see her babies were worried. Scarlet and SJ had both been fretful since Kelso came, and she had gotten hurt. 

She spoke calmly “Yes, Baby, I’m just teasing Uncle Eric. Let’s eat lunch and have a nap.” One simple sentence with her sweetest tone and her babies went under a rapid metamorphosis. She hated that Kelso marked her life again, and was trying desperately to remember none of that was Eric’s fault. She strode past him and gave him a glare.

Eric followed her and muttered under his breath “I hate you Hyde” as he contemplated spending the afternoon with a pissed off Jackie.

Lunch could have been a boxing match, two fighters exchanging jabs with fake sunny tones.

“Take a drink of water, Jackie,” Eric throws out his first punch.

“Are you Doctor Eric now?” A solid right hook he thinks

He recovers with “He’s going to be pissed. Do you want a _ “Damn it Jackie” _ Lecture?”

If this was an actual fight, he would have gotten a solid hit on that one, but one should never under estimate Jackie. She had a streak of vicious that could lash out like a whip.

He watches her eyes go wicked, and she sings out in her sunniest and sweetest voice,

“He can tell me himself. I’m not your wife. You want to nag at someone, go get a wife and kids of your own.”

There it is he thinks The Knock Out Punch” He had no recovery. This hit hurt all the way to his heart.

“ You are right. I don’t have kids or a wife. I only get to love yours and try to take care of the woman my best friend loves.”

He sees it, the regret, the remorse, and he sees something else that looks like pity. She starts to apologize, but he doesn’t want to hear it.

“Don’t Jackie. Just forget it.” He stands up, clears his plates and says, “I’ll be outside.”

Jackie closed her eyes as she laid her head down….. she was such a bitch sometimes.


	2. Unsteady

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eric struggles with what could have been his, while at the same time Jackie hates that she can still hurt so easily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter Explores Jackie's guilt at hurting Eric and Eric's pain of not having the family he always dreamed of. 
> 
> So many have asked for Eric's story..... Here I introduce how he found Devon and a glimpse into how Eric and Jackie's relationship as friends grows.
> 
> This section in the SJ and Scarlet Chronicles sets up SJ and his best friend Jackson. SJ and Scarlet Chronicles will always come slower because I am bringing a whole world into focus in my head.
> 
> This also takes us back to the aftermath of when Kelso first confronts Jackie, causing her to hit her head.
> 
> While I was born in America, a great deal of my family is Irish. My grandfather was full blooded and came to America when he was 18. He became a citizen by fighting in the Korean War. My dad is what they call first generation.
> 
> My point is what Jackie says to Scarlet and SJ at nap time are actual things that my Grandparents use to say to me. The word Fae is the proper term for the fairies in Ireland which is why I use it when Jackie is talking to Scarlet.
> 
> My real name is Gaelic for the word Ireland and I can speak some Gaelic. So this one is for my Grand Da, who was called home 20 years ago on October 28th. He was a storyteller, and I believe any ability I may have to craft a story, comes from the Irish blood that lives in my body. Lord..... he could tell a tale.
> 
> Is brea' liom tu' grand da (I love you Grand Da)

“Mama, are you okay?” She looks up into the worried eyes of her son. She can’t help but feel instant love. This boy, his father already, eyes brimming with worry. She touches his face,

“I’m fine baby boy. I am just mad at myself. I was mean to Uncle Eric." 

SJ screwed up his face “Why Mama?”

What did she say to this sweet innocent boy, it had been a month since Kelso blew a hole in their serenity and all of them were still reeling?

SJ had nightmares about the bad man and Scarlet cried if anyone raised their voice. Steven yelling and getting angry had frightened her. This in turn made her husband hate Kelso even more and hate himself for scaring his daughter. 

How did you explain to a little boy his father swung to unspeakable rage when he thought about Kelso and then all the way back to deep regret for what happened between them? That he was near frantic about her health, and she could see it wearing on him.

Where were the words to tell him that the sun hurts her eyes and now she experienced terrible migraines. That his father's hovering was driving her nuts.

She wanted it to all go away, so she lashed out at Eric rather than fight with Steven because it was easier than going another round with Steven. She would never win a fight with him about her well-being. It was impossible, he was unmoveable on the subject.

“Mama, YOU OKAY?” SJ yelled growing upset by her silence. They were so fearful now that something would happen to her.

“Yes, baby I’m okay. I was being grouchy. That was why I was mean to Uncle Eric.”

Scarlet, who had a special bond with her Uncle, said in a very Jackie tone, 

“Mommy! That is mean.”

“I know, I will tell him I’m sorry.” she softly said back to the four year old who was admonishing her.

“How about we lay down for our naps and when you wake up Daddy will be home, and we will have pizza and movie night. Mommy will invite Uncle Eric.”

She watched her words soothe both her tender hearted babies. She scooped up SJ and held out her hand out to Scarlet. She led them back to Eric’s spare room. She felt guilty instantly as she walked into Eric’s second bedroom. It is not a spare room, it is SJ and Scarlet’s room. She feels awful, they both have a bed,toys, their names over their beds. He loved them so much, and she had thrown it in his face they weren’t his. 

Jackie hated that part of herself, the bitchy, hit the weakest point and go in for the kill without a thought part of her. She quickly laid them down in their beds, and struggled to gear herself up for the naptime fight. 

“NO! I sleep with SJ!”

“Scarlet, you need to lay in your own bed.”

“Mama, sissy can sleep with me.”

Jackie smiled at her son, so like his dad in his need to shield his sister, but Scarlet had a hard time sleeping without SJ. She had been crawling into his bed since she could escape her crib. She and Steven decided that now that they were almost five, they needed to curb this habit. Scarlet who was just like Jackie wasn’t having it.

She stomped her little pixie foot and yelled again,

“NO! I sleep with SJ.” 

Jackie’s head was starting to hurt and that really pissed her off because that would make both Steven and Eric right. Feeling guilty, being wrong, and being in pain made her get testy quickly with her daughter,

“Kathleen Scarlet get in bed right now!” Jackie watched the lip come out and the big eyes fill. She wasn’t impressed in the least,

“Knock if off Scarlet, I’m not Daddy that doesn’t work on me, I invented that look.” 

She watched her daughter's face get dark, but accept defeat. Jackie turned and let Scarlet mumble and calm herself by starting with SJ first.

“Sweet Dreams baby, Go play in Never Never Land and come back when the pirates are no more and you are king.”

He beamed at her, as he would grow he would fight with his dad nonstop, but they would always be united in their deep love for Jackie. 

“I love you mama” he smiled. She kissed his forehead and he rolled to his side.

Jackie took a deep calming breath and mumbled to herself “I will be an adult, I will not fight with a four year old.” so she wouldn't strangle the mini sized version of herself. 

She sat on the bed and looked down on that petulant face and sighed. Somehow her and Steven produced carbon copies of themselves. Scarlet had her midnight colored hair, the dark hue to her skin, and she eyes that defied description. They didn’t have one color, a mix of blues and greens, with a dash of a light brown. She drove Jackie nuts, but everyday she loved her baby girl more, but Scarlet would always belong to Steven. 

She caressed the messy curls out of Scarlet’s face and whispered,

“Sweet Dreams, Princess of the Fae. Go find the other fairies where you rule, but you can only find them if you drift away to Fairyland. Come back after you have danced and teased, and your heart is light on the breeze.”

Scarlet wanted to glare at her mama, but she looked tired even to her young and innocent eyes. Unlike her parents, Scarlet would spend her whole life unable to hold onto anger, and her annoyance at not being able to sleep with her brother wisped away. 

“I love you mama, you lay with me?”

Jackie’s head was pounding, her heart guilty, and she wasn’t ready to be sorry face to face. She was still terrible at admitting she was wrong. She curled up with her sweet girl and whispered, 

“Just for a minute baby doll.” Jackie closed her eyes, and she followed Scarlet to the land of dreams in seconds.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eric was outside pacing his yard trying to remember he liked Jackie most of the time, and that she made Hyde happy. He was trying to remember she wasn’t the spawn of Satan.

Jesus, she could be ruthless, he sometimes wondered how Hyde didn’t kill her in her sleep. He knew why, and that was what hurt the most. He had seen her eyes soften simply by watching Hyde walk into a room. There were different versions of Jackie. Hyde’s Jackie was more patient, sweeter, quieter, and her love for him pulsated out of her. 

Hyde’s Jackie was entirely for him, and Eric was insanely jealous of it.  _ Not of Jackie _ , he rolled his eyes at the thought of them together. One of them would die and it would probably be him. What he was jealous of was this was supposed to be him. He was supposed to have the fairytale with Donna.

It still hurt the woman he had known since he was five was a lie. Everything he had believed about the woman he was convinced was he soulmate was a facade. It made him question everything about the events of his life. Just like Hyde and Jackie, he didn’t know what was real and what was manufactured by two people incapable of truly thinking of others. It stabbed at him to watch SJ and Scarlet, he loved them so much, he loved being Uncle Eric, but he was nowhere close to starting a family of his own. He hadn’t even had a date since the night he broke up with Donna in his driveway. He didn’t even know if he knew how to start dating. His grand total of experience was with Donna and look how that turned out.

A cool breeze signaled the afternoon had waned alerted him that he had been siting on his patio mindlessly brooding and that Jakcie had never come back. He started to experience mild panic. He moved quickly out his gate to see if she had gone back to working on the Cruiser. All he saw were her tools looking dejected with their abandonment. His panic notched up, his gaze flew across the street to the Hyde house to find it dark with the approaching evening shadows.

SJ and Scarlet had to be still sleeping, they would have come out and found him if they were awake wanting to play or have a snack. He marched into the house and stepped quickly into the room he had set aside for the children he loved but were not his own. He swallowed, and felt his heart squeeze painfully. There she was wrapped around Scarlet and SJ. SJ had abandoned his bed and was snuggled up with his sister and his mother. He leaned against the door and felt tears clog his lungs. This was Hyde’s Jackie curled with her children, protecting and loving them even in her sleep. He wanted his own version of a Jackie. He had never felt so alone in his life, staring at a family he may never have. A voice traveled through the house,

“Forman?” 

He glanced back one more time envious and weary, before he called “Back here Hyde”


	3. Things That Must Be Said

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eric and Jackie have it out, and Jackie lays it on the line.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have ALWAYS thought Jackie and Eric have a complicated relationship. That being said there are signs in the show that he really cares about her and she him. I like the idea that they would still drive each other mad, but they would do anything for each other because they both love Hyde so much.

Hyde knew his wife, and he knew Forman, something that was up. They were circling each other like boxers who had fought before and were waiting for the bell to ring for a rematch. He had been waiting for Jackie to spring like a panther on him all evening for having Eric keep an eye on her. She was being overly sweet, which always put him on edge. She was either about to draw blood or she had fucked up. Those were the only two times she acted like this. It had surprised him when she had invited Eric for Pizza/Family night. Generally, after spending time together Jackie and Eric needed a break from being in each other's presence. 

They had all just settled back down after putting the kids down to sleep. Hyde wanted to get something to drink after fighting his daughter over not sleeping with SJ. He knew he was screwed, he wanted to give her whatever she wanted. He sighed and rose to get a beer,

“Forman? Beer? Jacks, you want a glass of wine?”

Before Eric could answer, Hyde watched Jackie look straight at Forman and answer with an apologetic tone 

“No, baby. I’ll have a glass of water, decent size. I didn’t drink enough. I’m sorry about that.”

He was about to comment when Forman replied with heat, “I’ll have beer, need it after being with the devil all day.” 

Hyde watched Jackie’s eyes pale and dart away, and unfortunately for her, they landed on his, and he understood it all. He sighed, Jackie and Eric got under each other’s skin, they could go at it like dogs, but Hyde recognized guilt. 

“Doll, want to help me? Hey Forman go check and see if Scarlet stayed in her bed for me.”

Eric rolled his eyes, and thought to himself _ “that might be the lamest thing Hdye had ever said to him to get him out of a room.” _

He trudged up the stairs, straight past Scarlet's room, to the end of the hall where another set of stairs took you straight down to the kitchen. He wanted to hear her catch hell, as he listened their voices began to heat up.

“What did you do Jackie? You and Forman are dancing around each other.”

“It’s all your fault that I was mean to him.”

Eric was surprised to hear her near tears. He wasn't surprised to however to hear Hyde’s pissed off tone.

“My fault! I was gone all day with WB! How can you being a bitch to Forman be my fault?”

“YOU LEFT HIM TO BABYSIT ME LIKE A CHILD! You left him to remind me to drink water and rest. I don’t need someone to watch over me!” 

Eric closed his eyes, he wished he had let it go. He had knocked off a scab on a wound that was just starting to heal. Jackie being injured by Kelso was something they were all still struggling with. He mentally shot Hyde a message to not push and let it go. The message did not go through. 

“Yes, you do! In the history of our lives together when have you ever taken care of yourself properly! You don’t eat like you are supposed to, you refuse to listen! You have headaches now, you still get fatigued. You are supposed to rest, drink more water but you want to pretend it didn’t happen. No woman in the history of time needs a keeper more than you. You are headstrong and reckless.”

Eric expected her to explode, but instead she started sobbing,

“I told him if wanted to nag to get a wife and kids of his own.”

Hyde was shocked, “Jackie! That’s terrible.”

Her voice was inaudible, but he heard it “I know. I didn’t mean it the way it came out.”

Eric sighed as he strode down the stairs. “Hyde, I’ll take this one.”

Eric grabbed Jackie, the beer, her water, and pulled her outside. He sat them on the back step.

Jackie started in right away, “Eric, I’m sorry. I’m a bitch. I promise it wasn’t a dig about Donna. I promise. Hyde, SJ and Scarlet you love you so much. I do too most of the time.” She added at the end, trying to throw a little humor in. 

Eric had been only planning to talk with her about the fight and back up what Hyde said about taking care of herself, but her saying Donna’s name broke a dam that had been cracking for a long time.

“It was a cheap shot Jackie. It still hurts.You got your dream come true. I’m not trying to compare. I know you and Hyde have been through hell while I got to be blissfully unaware but there is no redemption for me. I’m only left with memories that were not real. It was mean Jackie, even for you.”

Jackie eyed the man who was why she was even sitting here with a husband and two astonishing children. He didn’t let Hyde give up, he pushed him to let her see Red when Hyde refused, and he made sure he was there the night of the dinner. She let her eyes drift close because looking at him hurt.

“Eric, I’m sorry. I am. I’m a bitch and I took my frustrations at Steven on you. You would do anything for him, even deal with a woman you’ve never liked.”

Jackie, lifted her hand and gently tipped Eric’s chin, so he was looking at her. He almost jumped. Jackie touching him like this was so out of character. He then watched her pull out another Jackie, one he had never seen before. A Jackie that showed how much she cared about him.

“Eric, I want you to listen to me and watch my face. She never deserved you. I know, I used to ask her what she saw in you but I always knew. You are a good and loyal man. You saved him, Eric. Don’t believe for one second I don’t know I wouldn't be here right, now living my forever if you didn’t love him so much. It was completely thoughtless of me Eric especially towards a friend I owe everything to. I owe you him, for being his best friend, and bringing him home after Enda bailed. I want to be mad sometimes still for all the shit you gave us, because it hurt Eric.

He closed his eyes this time. He still felt ashamed for his part in driving Jackie and Hyde apart.

“Eric! Look at me!”

His eyes flew open and stared directly into the deep pools of serious, and he wondered if he was finally bearing witness to the real Jackie.

“It hurt Eric, and sometimes I still want to kick you for it, but don’t you doubt that I am not aware my everything would not be mine without you. If Steven and I died tomorrow, my heart would rest knowing you had my babies. All those things, who you are is how I know she didn't deserve you. I know it hurts, but I’m glad she doesnt have you, it would have be a waste.

Eric watch a single tear fall from he eyes and his heart clenched. He finally got it. A truly sad Jackie was heartbreaking to behold.

He was speechless. He couldn’t believe she said all the things she just did. She turned back to stare at the night.

“I’m sorry Eric. I was wrong.”

He felt it, she was truly sorry and was grieved for no other reason than she had hurt him. 

He smiled softly into the night, “I forgive you. It’s not like I don’t owe you a million I’m sorrys.”

He heard her sniff, her voice quiet but firm “No, you don’t. You saved us Eric. I know it is not my business but I’m going to say it, its time to let her go. I wish both you and Steven could let them go. Kelso occupies no part of me, either does Donna. It is time to leave her behind.”

He didn’t answer. Jackie was use to that, she was married to Steven. Silence was a regular form of communication in her life.

Hyde stood in the kitchen listening to their conversation. Jackie never ceased to amaze him, her heart was huge. She loved without end, he would never stop being grateful to have her. His thoughts and the silence around Jackie and Eric was broken by Jackie in her most Jackie voice “I have this this friend….”

Eric half groaned and half laughed “Jackie don’t even start.”

Hyde watched her lay her head on Eric’s shoulder and say

“I still hate you String Bean.”

Eric’s laugh was light, “Good, because I still hate you Devil.”


	4. Finding His Tomorrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eric needs to find his tomorrow and no one should ever underestimate Jackie when she has a plan. 
> 
> The SJ and Scarlet Chronicles are completely outlined and go backing and filling them in and editing them is very difficult for me. I apologize for poor editing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you love getting a glimpse at Eric's happy. You will get to see more, but next up in this universe is SJ meeting his Jackie and Haze and Scarlet go to Homecoming.
> 
> If you loved Jackie and Hyde at Prom then.... you are going to love Scarlet and Haze at homecoming in the next installment.

The Hyde house was chaotic. It was the twins’ fifth birthday, he didn’t know what made him think that Jackie was capable of keeping this small. He watched her dash around with Kitty trying to make everything perfect.

SJ and Scarlet were bouncing around, SJ already dirty in his new clothes. He knew that Jackie would have a fit when she noticed. He was trying to hide in the corner with Red. 

“You know there is no getting out of this hell… without her killing you right?” Red muttered under his breath.

Hyde took a large drink and replied “Unfortunately, yes.”

The doorbell rang, and he heard Jackie yell “SJ, Jackson is here.”  
In walked a woman and a little boy from SJ and Scarlet’s preschool. Hyde had met Jackson many times and had heard Jackie talk about his mom but he had never met her. The minute she walked into the room he felt a shift. Warmth and calm just radiated off of her, and it seemed to have an effect on the room. He watched his son and Jackson bounce around each other at that exact moment Eric walked in from the kitchen.

“Uncle Eric! Meet my buddy Jackson!” Eric looked down at SJ and his little friend and said “Hey Jackson, nice to meet you. I hear you and SJ are buddies.”

The little boy beamed up at him “YUP! We are like brothers because he has a stinky sister.”

Eric watched the two little boys and those words “like brothers” had him scanning the room for his own friend who was a brother and found Hyde. A lifetime of yesterdays and tomorrows passed between them, but the moment was broken by a soft and warm voice,

“Jackson! That’s not nice. Don’t call Scarlet Stinky!” 

Eric let his eyes travel from looking across the room to the source of the voice. There stood a woman with rich brown hair, and warm chocolate brown eyes. She seemed to radiate kindness and warmth, everything about her made Eric feeling instantly at ease. For the first time in a very long time his heart felt a pull towards a woman. 

Eric stuttered out “I’m Eric, of the Uncle Eric introduction.”

He wanted to slap himself. He didn’t think he could sound lamer, but this woman in front of smiled, and his world stopped. Her smile was like a wave of sunshine, not intense heat but instead the kind of warmth the sun gives out on an early summer day. 

“I’m Devon, mother of “sisters are stinky.”

His heart was now pounding, he glanced down to her left hand to see if a ring accompanied her and her son, but her slender finger was bare. For the first time in a long time he sensed what he could only call possibility.

Hyde watched it all go down next to Red. 

“Thought this was a family party. Seems odd to invite a preschool friend. I don’t see any little friends for Scarlet.” Red chuckled as he stood next to Hyde and watched something start to heal inside his son. 

Hyde, however, was not listening, he was looking at his wife and her cocky grin. Her eyes were bright, and she was gazing back him with an expression of satisfaction. He merely raised an eyebrow at her, and she blew him a kiss. He watched her cross over to Eric and whisper in his ear.

He couldn’t hear what she was saying, but Eric’s whole face lit up as she said,

“You can thank me for Devon later.”

Her smile was radiant, Jackie Hyde…… Eric thought, you never knew what she would do next. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Present

“Eric?” that same voice from his memory called, and he was shaken from the very best day of his life. The day he was introduced to Devon, and met the woman he would love more than he ever thought possible. Who made what he felt for Donna all those years ago feel shallow and unimportant.

He looked up at her and smiled “Hey, Honey, did you need me?” 

He grabbed her hand and pulled her down on his lap. She smiled at this man who had changed her world. AN admirable man who took on a woman who had a little boy and made them both his own. This sweet and loving man who had made her a mother again, and made her feel like she was the brightest star in the sky. She ran her fingers up and down his arm, picking up the thread of his question.

“What are you doing out here?”

He looked from her back across the street, to the group of guys still playing ball. He focused on his son and Hyde’s, and answered her back,

“I’m watching a new generation baby.”

She looked at him confused, I don’t understand. A new generation of what?”

He smiled at her a tiny wistful that she would never really understand but thrilled somethings go on even if they look different. The wistful smile, turned happy and warm as he answered,

“I’m watching the new basement gang, two boys who are brothers, and pals they can’t live without.”


End file.
